Lesson: Diaspora Client Fails To Pay His Wedding Debts, Blocks Service Provider

It’s not unusual that someone fails to pay their debt on time. I would personally struggle to remember how many times I failed to repay my debts on time. Nonetheless, with straight forward communication and understanding colleagues, I was given the chance to pay on later dates. But, I never reneged on my promises to repay those debts. However, the same cannot be said for Mr. Moses Bagaga.

In Uganda’s wedding industry, it’s not strange that service providers go out of their way to render their services on credit to clients who may have shown commitment after paying their first deposits for a service. Without naming specific services providers I have crossed paths with in this case; cake bakers, photographers, caterers etc, have all offered services on credit out of the goodness of their hearts and trust that although someone failed to pay their full amount prior to the wedding day, they would eventually meet their debt. Because let’s face it, in the broader perspective of our economy with all its challenges, it’s understandable that a client would fail to meet their financial obligations and yet pushing a wedding date in some circumstance is almost impossible.

But from time to time, some clients have betrayed that trust. The trust they desperately and politely ask for during these times to make their big days a success. According to Koller Hiob K, the CEO of Catahena Décor & Wedding Planning; “Last year December 3^rd I received 10.000.000 UGX deposit from a UK client I met on Instagram. Who after my due diligence turned out to be a friend to another good doctor, whose wedding I had served.”

“This UK client had a contract signed for 28.000.000UGX. 10 months later into 2019, he called to tell me he had problems at his workplace in the UK and that he had to downsize the wedding,” Koller narrates in a length Facebook post to his timeline.

He and the client had become friends over time as they communicated back and forth to plan for Mr. Moses Bagaga’s wedding. “He came to Uganda 3 weeks to the wedding day, but with zero shillings to pay me for the balance 7 days before wedding as contract said. That he signed.”

“I still went ahead and delivered the decor for his wedding. Under the rain, storms actually. I did the best I could and delivered,” Koller further explains.

“He said he would send the balance once he was back in the UK. I agreed, knowing also he is a born again Christian. The group that always pretends to be the holiest of holy. Funny enough, I'd forgotten that in the past, all the folks that robbed me had always been Born again posers.

The service provider further narrates that he “started demanding” for his “pay since October” but all his calls and text messages went unanswered, (not a character of someone who plans to come through on their promise) while all other means to get a hold of Mr. Moses Bagaga remained futile. Mediations by other people didn’t seem to help either.

“Now Mr. Moses Bagaga it's such a shame that you should come to Uganda, your home and rob people of services they've duly offered you. It's such a shame to create trust from a man like you, just to use it as a tool to rob another,” reads part of his Facebook post

“Above all it's such a shame that you should wed your wife/ start your marriage on bad unpaid debts. People like you disrespect artists because you think we are useless. It's funny man, you view my Whatsapp statuses but never return my texts. Your wife went ahead and paid 500k. Then blocked me and my wife everywhere on social media. A typical sign of a thief. If I was in wrong, why didn't you raise my wrongs with me when I first asked for my balance?”

Koller Hiob K of Catahena Décor & Wedding Planning is now pursuing legal means to secure what is due to him from Mr. Moses Bagaga.

Perhaps the conundrum Koller finds himself in serves as an extra lesson to services providers in the industry as well as to clients that fail to meet their debt obligations and those planning their weddings.

To those planning to tie the knot, our advice will always remain the same; “do what is within your means avoid debt at the expense of a fancy wedding”.